7 months and counting...

Since the last update, we have been busy, busy, busy! Auntie Sarah and cousin Andrew made a visit in early April.

Kai's been eating a wide variety of new foods and has been generally a very good eater (like his mama!) It's always funny to see his facial expressions the first time he tries something new. Of course, he loves the sweet fruits like apples and pears.  Whenever he eats, he says, "Mmmmmmm!!!" It's so cute.

Kai has been turning into a bit of a mama's boy, which is endearing and troublesome at the same time.  I feel so loved when he is so happy to see me and tries desperately to get to me or when we're in a room full of people, my boy only has eyes for me.  However, it's hard when I need to go to the bathroom or get a bite in the kitchen or something and oh horrors, mommy has to walk AWAY or go out of sight! Oh my! It is so traumatic.
Here's one of Kai's first attempts at standing on his own (sorta):

 Kai turned 7 months on April 26th.  He started crawling the day before on Keila's 7 month birthday and also the day of her baptism.  He has had so much fun being mobile and exploring.  He has a strange interest in the wall.  I don't know if I just think in a weird or philosophical way, but I think Kai is fascinated with the wall because it shows that there are concrete limits, there is a space that can't be passed.  He also, like any dude, loves electronics, things that are metallic or shiny. He loves cell phones and remote controls and will cross the room to get his hands on one.
Here's Kai making a funny face, "Huh?!"

The first week of May, we went on our first official BIG family vacation!! We went to Orlando, Florida!  It was great because we got to use our United miles, free car rental coupons from Ryuta's work, and mom and dad got a timeshare for all of us.  We stayed at the Marriott Grande Vista and it was soooo nice!! Thanks, mom and dad!!
Our first day there Ryuta and I thought it would cool to drive to the beach since it has been a really, really long time since we've been to the beach.  We kind of got lost and had a bit of an adventure, but finally found the beach (sounds dumb, but it's true.)  I don't know if it's because we are so used to Hawaii and our idea of a real beach is from our memories of Hawaii, but Daytona beach isn't the best beach for families with little ones.  The beach itself was nice and long and the ocean was blue and warm, but the human environment was kinda gross.  People were driving up and down the beach and cars were all parked on the beach.  We found parking and had to walk through the "Hawaiian Inn" to get access to the beach (ironic, huh?)  Lots of the people there were tattooed, unhealthy-looking smokers (yuck!) Anyways, enough of that..
Kai got to see and touch his namesake, the OCEAN, for the first time.  We put his feet in shallow water and he smiled when he saw the water moving and rushing over his toes.

On Monday, Papi, Tutu, Uncle Ryan, Auntie Sarah, Andrew, and our family went to the magic kingdom! It was really hot, really crowded, but I love Disney.. so magical :)
We're here!!

 Trying on some Mickey Mouse ears

 I feel silly like this!!!

 We went on lots of rides. It was cool to do all the fast passes plus they have a rider swap for parents who need to wait behind with the babies.  My favorite rides from the trip were Splash Mountain, Everest, Aerosmith, and Tower of Terror.

My mom made t-shirts for everyone with our names on them.  It was funny because the Disney workers would say hi to us by name.  I was like, "Hey! How'd they know that?!" and then, I'd remember that we were wearing the shirts.  When you buy a multiple-day pass at Disney World, they scan your fingerprint.  When someone said hi to us, at first, I thought that they had a radar-like machine that could tell your fingerprint and your name.  But, again, the t-shirts.  The shirts were really clever, too, in the large crowds because it was easy to find one another with our red t-shirts.
At the happiest place on earth..

On Wednesday, we all went to Animal Kingdom.  It's a humongous park with lots of lush greenery everywhere.  The two main parts of park were divided into Asia and Africa.  We went on a train to the petting zoo.  We went on the animal safari which was really cool to see animals in a natural-like environment.  This day was broken up well because we stopped twice to watch two shows, Nemo and Lion King.  It was good to get out of the heat and to just sit down and relax for a bit.  My favorite of the day, the Everest ride, is a bit like the Thunder Mountain railroad ride, but better!
In front of the "Tree of Life"...(Happy Pre-Mother's Day, mom!)

 On Friday, Ryuta and I last minute decided we'd join the gang to the Hollywood Studios park.  The people working the registers at Disney are so helpful!  The first day, I left my tickets at our room and they helped us out so we wouldn't have to go all the way back.  This day, I was planning on just buying individual tickets and the girl gave us the 3rd day rate.  Surprisingly, I had the most fun at this park.  The car show was AWESOME!  I really, really enjoyed Aerosmith because I totally didn't know what to expect. The Tower of Terror was cool, too.  At the end of the day we saw American Idol experience and Ryuta laughed at me because I said I would try it.  When we went, I realized that I probably couldn't because it was very realistic and the contestants were MUCH better performers than me. I probably would have just sang "Pants on the Ground."
The car show "Lights, Motors, Action!"

 Kai's view of the trip

 One of the ongoing jokes during our trip was Ryuta's explanation of a meal at Chili's.  He said that we could get a great meal for $10.  The only thing was that.... it wasn't that good... or it wasn't really, really that good.  I know what he means, but we were giving him a hard time.  The last night of our trip, we ate at... Chili's!
Ryuta with his beloved Chili's menu

Thanks for a great first family vacation!!!